"Everyone's household food supplies are running pretty low, aren't they."
Huang Tao's words gradually quieted the previously noisy residents gathered around.
Qin Ziwen sat on a tree branch, feeling rather curious about what scheme Huang Tao was cooking up this time.
"Have any of you thought about what we'll do when our household food completely runs out?" Huang Tao's words pierced through the problem many had been subconsciously avoiding.
"Go steal? If your family has eaten everything, do you really think other households have much left? We can't just sit here consuming our resources until they're gone—we can't continue like this!"
Huang Tao held a megaphone and shouted loudly: "Our residential complex has over a thousand people! Over a thousand! Relying solely on digging for wild vegetables, picking wild fruits, and hunting small animals in the wilderness is completely insufficient to feed us all!"
Qin Ziwen rubbed his chin, feeling like this speech sounded somewhat familiar.
Huang Tao spoke with passionate urgency: "Right beneath our residential complex flows a river. Since ancient times, people have lived off the mountains when near mountains, and lived off the waters when near waters. We must seize control of this river at our feet! I'm here pleading with everyone—we need to unite and clear the crocodiles from the river. This is a war, a territorial battle between us humans and the crocodiles!"
After finishing his speech and seeing the unresponsive crowd, a flicker of disappointment flashed in Huang Tao's eyes.
From outside the crowd came a clear voice: "So what should we do then?"
Huang Tao looked toward the direction of the voice.
Qin Ziwen sitting in the tree came into view.
Qin Ziwu whispered: "Brother, why are you being a plant?"
Qin Ziwen shook his head slightly: "Not a plant, but clearing the crocodiles benefits us too. At least when fishing we won't have to worry about when a crocodile might sneak up behind us."
There was one more thing he didn't say aloud.
He was waiting to hunt crocodiles to boost his daily settlement rating.
Moreover, after the crocodiles were eliminated, the abundant resources in this river would become a hunting ground for farming ratings. He could lay multiple trap cages in the water and build stone formations along the bank.
Huang Tao declared loudly: "I believe we can form crocodile hunting teams, with twenty people per squad. Given our residential complex's population, we can easily assemble ten to twenty teams.
Crocodiles are dangerous, but they're not unkillable. Didn't we kill one just yesterday? That proves they're not that formidable.
When they come ashore, they can't even utilize half their strength! Our biggest advantage over animals is that we can use our brains—we can set traps.
Plus, crocodiles are entirely meat. Killing one crocodile means every team member can get dozens of kilograms of meat, enough to feed a family for a week! If we don't hunt crocodiles now while we're still well-fed and strong, should we wait until we're starving to fight them?"
A young man on a second-floor balcony nearby shouted: "How will the crocodile meat be distributed? What about people who slack off and don't pull their weight? Do they get a share too?"
Huang Tao firmly raised his fist: "I absolutely detest slackers. With so many eyes in one team, everyone can clearly see who's contributing and who's not. I don't want such people in our teams either. If they appear, we can hold a public vote to decide whether to expel them from the team."
An elderly man nearby said: "But how do we actually kill the crocodiles? Don't think we don't know—when you killed that crocodile yesterday, one young man lost his life. A crocodile that big—how can people withstand its tail whips?"
Huang Tao patiently explained: "Yesterday we successfully hunted one crocodile, and we've summarized our experience. The key is to maximize everyone's safety as much as possible. What activity is completely risk-free? People can even choke to death drinking water."
The gathered residential complex residents raised various questions—some were just causing trouble, while others were genuinely inquiring.
Regardless of which type, Huang Tao patiently answered them all.
Finally, Huang Tao said: "This megaphone doesn't have much battery left, so I'll keep it brief. My final words: those willing to hunt crocodiles can register with me. I'll try to form teams according to your building locations and preferences. If you've already privately formed teams, you can register too. I'll freely share all the experience I've summarized."
From beneath the tree came Zheng Yuan's voice: "Brother Qin, joining us tomorrow?"
Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar man under the tree, Qin Ziwen's mind raced.
The man beneath the tree said: "It's me, Zheng Yuan."
Qin Ziwen couldn't believe it, trying to connect this clear-eyed, rather handsome-looking man with the burly, bearded figure from before.
Zheng Yuan laughed heartily: "I shaved my beard. Too troublesome to maintain daily."
Since they had previous cooperation experience, after brief consideration Qin Ziwen readily agreed.
"How many people have you contacted so far?"
Zheng Yuan pointed toward Huang Tao in the crowd, "Tentatively Old Huang, plus those security guards from property management, and one neighbor from my building who works as a fitness trainer. I've contacted seven people so far."
Qin Ziwen said: "My brother and I make two, plus I have one more person who joined us last time. That makes ten people total—we need ten more."
He reserved one spot for Old Deng.
Although Old Deng often returned empty-handed from fishing, he was a decent person.
Zheng Yuan said: "Let Old Huang pick the remaining members. Plenty of people must be signing up with him now—he should be able to select some suitable teammates."
Qin Ziwen couldn't help teasing, "Already calling him Old Huang, huh?"
Zheng Yuan looked slightly embarrassed but said: "Huang Tao is somewhat ambitious, but he's reliable enough."
After chatting briefly, the two separated.
Qin Ziwen and his brother went together to the eighth floor of Unit 1 in Building 1.
Climbing to the eighth floor left Qin Ziwen sweating, "That was quite a climb."
Qin Ziwu pounded his thighs, "No elevator is really tough."
This floor had only two units. Unit 801 had a shoe rack by the door and couplets pasted on it.
Unit 802 appeared cold and deserted, showing no signs of habitation.
Qin Ziwen knocked on Unit 801's door.
A woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
"Does Wang Yun live here? I'm the one who met him this afternoon—I live in Building 8."
"Ayun, someone's here for you, says he's from Building 8."
Soon the door opened, and Wang Yun—wearing glasses and casual clothes—greeted Qin Ziwen inside.
"This is my wife, Lin Yi. This young man is the one who traded fish with me this afternoon, and his brother."
Lin Yi wore her hair in a bun, with bright eyes and white teeth, greeting Qin Ziwen generously: "Hello."
Qin Ziwen felt somewhat apologetic: "Sorry to disturb you so late. Actually, I wanted to ask Doctor Wang about something—what are the key considerations for raising rabbits? Since it's my first time, I'm not sure if there are any dietary precautions."
Wang Yun understood immediately and patiently explained: "For raising rabbits, just pay attention to two main points. First, don't feed them too many high-water-content vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, or carrots, because that disrupts their gut flora, causing severe diarrhea and bloating, potentially leading directly to death.
Second, wild rabbits are hindgut fermenters—they need to consume large amounts of high-fiber roughage to maintain continuous intestinal movement. Simply put, use hay, leaves, tree bark, and such as their staple food, supplemented with small amounts of fresh vegetables. Then provide 250 to 500 milliliters of drinking water daily."
Wang Yun then shared numerous other rabbit care considerations with him.
After listening, Qin Ziwen felt he'd gained substantial knowledge.
Indeed, knowledge was the most precious resource.
Qin Ziwen asked: "Are you joining the crocodile hunt tomorrow?"
Wang Yun shook his head: "We won't be going. If you're hunting crocodiles, be careful—they're quite dangerous. Although they have poor stamina and endurance, their burst power is quite high.
Hmm... crocodiles are cold-blooded animals—they can't regulate their own body temperature and rely entirely on external conditions. They become sluggish when temperatures drop. Of course, I'm referring to Earth's crocodiles. The species here aren't native, so their habits can only serve as reference. I hope you have a successful harvest tomorrow."
...